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Dynamics, Composition and Origin of Submicron Atmospheric Aerosol Measured at Suburban and Traffic Site in Prague, Czech Republic
PETRA POKORNÁ, Nadežda Zíková, Petr Vodicka, Jakub Ondráček, Jaroslav Schwarz, Philip K. Hopke, ICPF CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
Abstract Number: 39
Working Group: Urban Aerosols
Abstract
To improve the air quality in urban areas, the underlying causalities need to be well understood, particularly when it comes to aspects such as PM concentrations and sources. The aim of this work was to determine submicron aerosol dynamics, chemical compositions, and origins at two urban sites in the Czech Republic capital.
A parallel measurement campaign was conducted in June-December 2020 at a suburban and a traffic site in Prague. Number size distributions in the range 15.1 – 593.5 nm at the suburban and 14.6 – 495.8 nm at the traffic site were measured every 5-min using an SMPS (TSI). 2-h PM1 elemental and organic carbon concentrations with a field semi-online OCEC analyser (Sunset Laboratory Inc.) as well as 1-h PM10 by a Beta gauge (MP101M, Environnement SA) along with gasses and meteorology were recorded. Also, 24-h/12-h PM1 samples (suburban/traffic) by a Leckel ( LVS-3, Sven Leckel Ingenieurbüro) for a subsequent chemical analysis (water-soluble ions and sugars) were collected. The monthly medians of SMPS total number and mass concentrations were tested by Dunn’s test [1].
During the six-month campaign, no 24-h PM10 EU limit exceedance (50 μg/m3, 35x in the year) occurred. The monthly PM10 median at suburban and traffic sites ranged between 11 – 19.5 μg/m3 and 14 – 24 μg/m3 (June/November), respectively. For most months and both number and mass median concentrations based on the SMPS data at both stations differed. Further, more complex data analysis is needed to fully assess the submicron aerosol concentrations, compositions, and origins at the Prague stations.
Project LTAUSA19006 of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic is acknowledged for financial support.
[1] Dunn, O. J., Multiple comparisons using rank sums. Technometrics, 6, 241–252, 1964.